General Information

Robertson Books consists mainly of me: Vanessa Robertson, although I am ably assisted by husband Malcolm on the website, packing and post office trip front when the need arises! I’ve always read voraciously and becoming a bookseller seemed a logical progression. Children’s books have always been a particular interest – there are books that I remember from my childhood that I still read now that I’m a mother. K M Peyton’s Flambards series is a long-time favourite, as are Monica Edwards’ and Josephine Pullein Thompson’s books. Even a dreadful cold can be soothed by an afternoon by the fire re-reading one of Ruby Ferguson’s Jill books and swigging hot chocolate!

We’re based in Edinburgh, and although we don’t have shop premises (maybe something to think about in the future...), all of our stock is available to search on-line. Buying books over the internet can be daunting, which is why most descriptions are accompanied by photographs – if the one that you are interested in isn’t photographed, drop me an email and I’ll send a picture asap. I try very hard to describe books carefully and tend to err on the side of caution, so please order in confidence.

As well as being booksellers, we have also set up a small publishing venture – Fidra Books – which reprints hard-to-find chidlren’s fiction, including books by authors such as Mabel Esther Allan, Joanna Cannan, Olivia FitzRoy, Elinor Lyon, and M Pardoe. These books can of course be ordered from us.

Ibooknet

As well as having our own website, we sell through Ibooknet – the Independent Booksellers’ Network – a cooperative of booksellers throught the British Isles. Someone likened buying books though Ibooknet to shopping at a farmers’ market rather than a supermarket. We’re local businesses rather than multi-nationals, and that means that we can offer a more personal and friendly service. Ring an Ibooknet member and you’ll talk to someone knowledgeable and helpful, not a call centre or a bored shop assistant. We like to think that we offer real service in a virtual world.